HIMS students grapple with cadaver shortage

Time of India

2 days ago

Haveri: The Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) is experiencing a critical shortage of cadavers for anatomy dissection, affecting both students and the administration.
National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines stipulate one cadaver per 15 anatomy students. Due to non-compliance, HIMS got a Rs 15 lakh penalty last year and submitted documentation regarding cadaver arrangements.
Officials have secured arrangements for 10 cadavers from Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, with delivery expected within a week. Despite six persons pledging body donations, the current availability remains insufficient for educational requirements.
Sources indicate limited body donations due to social and religious factors. Despite ongoing awareness initiatives about the significance of body donations to medical institutions, public participation in these programmes remains notably low.
"Some people are showing interest in donating bodies, but their relatives are expecting something from the institution in return. People do not know that the donation of a body is a social cause, but they have considerations after body donation.
Some donors' successors are demanding money from us, but we refused to provide the same," stated a HIMS official.
The authorities face limitations in utilising unclaimed bodies from police quarters for educational purposes, as these require postmortem. The Haveri district hospital's insufficient infrastructure, including the absence of cold storage and mortuary facilities, complicates the preservation of unclaimed bodies.
Post-police investigation, these bodies often become unsuitable for academic purposes due to decomposition.
"The anxiety and doubts about the fate of their bodies after donation are the main reasons for showing unwillingness among the non-medical professionals in society. Misconceptions about body donation are deeply rooted in the population in rural areas. While the urban population is aware of organ and body donations it is ignorant about the procedure and criteria for the same," stated Dr Pradeep Kumar MV, dean of HIMS.
He added that they approached the department of medical education regarding the cadaver shortage, which suggested obtaining them from Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences due to their surplus. "Hassan Medical College authorities have allotted 10 bodies to our institute, and we will collect these bodies within a week. Our cadaver scarcity will be fulfilled this year," Dr Pradeep Kumar informed.